Spray device



Sept. 4, 1951 B. A. TETZLAFF 2,556,78

SPRAY DEVICE LFiled oct. 2 2, 1947 2 sheets-shew: 1

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.ZKTL. @if f la Sept 4, 1951 B. A. TETz-LAFF 2,566,78l

SPRAY DEVICE Y Filed Oct. 22, 1947 2Y Sheets-Sheet 2 f//g/Z.

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Patented Sept. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE senat. nnvlcnApplication october 22, 194.7, serial No. 781,459

(c1. zeef-1s) l. Claim. 1

spray devices which are simpler in construction and operation, moreeconomical to manufacture,

simpler to adjust, and more efficient and accurate in performance thanprior spray devices in general, and those described in the said Wittekpatent in particular.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spray device of thecharacter described where `the area sprinkled is sharply and preciselydefined.

`A further object of the invention is to provide` a spray 4device of thecharacter described in which a perfect square or a half of that square`may be wetted by the same device by means of an adjustment easilymade.`

Certain important objects of the invention lie the novel construction ofthe adjustable means for converting the sprinkler from producing asquare spray pattern to produce a rectangular fpattern comprising onehalf of the square area.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a spray device which willproduce a sharply defined 'rectangular spray pattern.

, `Afurtlier object of the invention is to provide ai sprinkler head inwhich the water is emitted in a finely divided and uniformly distributedspray and in which the area wetted 4will be unt- .formly saturated.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved formulafor the designing of spray heads to produce a uniformly distributedspray of square or rectangular design.

Other objects of the invention lie in the provision of novel fixed sprayheads for producing either square or rectangular spray patterns.

With the `foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel featuresci?A construction, arrangement and a combination of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, andparticularly pointed` out in the appended claims, it being understoodthat various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details ofthe `structure may be made without departing from `the spritor sacrineany f the advantages 0f the invention.

For the purpose oi facilitating an understanding of this invention,there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodimentthereof, from an inspection of which, when considcred in connection withthe following description, this invention, its mode of construction,assembly and operativi@l and many of its advantages should be readilyunderstood and appreelated.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a spray device embodying the newinvention, same being shown adjusted to produce a' perfectly squarespray pattern.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view'talren through the center of same.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the same showing the deviceadjusted to produce a perfectly rectangular spray pattern exactly halfthe size of that capable of being produced when the condition of thedevice is as shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that of Fig. 2 butshowing the device adjusted as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical illustration of the pattern of the sprayedarea when the sprinkler is adjusted to produce a square pattern.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical illustration of the pattern of the sprayedarea when the sprinkler has been adjusted to produce half of the sprayedpattern of Fig. 5, namely, a rectangle;

Fig. 7 is a top elevational view of a fixed sprinkler head adapted to beattachedto a permanent sprinkler system for example, embodying theteachings of theinvention.`

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken through the head shown in Eig. '7 alongthe line 8e3 as indicated by the arrows. The. appearance ofthe headswhich are designed to produce either square or rectangular spraypatterns are identical in plan. Fig. 8 illustrates a head intended toproduce a perfectly squarespray pattern.

Fig. 9 is a top plan viewsimilar to that of Fig. but with a sectiontaken through the bottom of the spreader capor deflector along the line9-.-3 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 isa bottom plan view of the spreader cap or deflector used inthe head shown in Fig. 8 and adapted to produce a perfectly square spraypattern.

11 is a bottom planview of the spreadercap or denector used to produce arectangular spray pattern.

Fig; 12 is a side elevational view of the same.

in the Wittek patent above referred to, a rspray device was described`which .could produce a substantially square spray pattern. The sprinkleror 3 spray head was provided with four passages ending in orifices 90apart and vertically arranged. The water coming through these orificeswas directed to impinge on the bottom of a spreader cap or deiiector.The cap was shaped somewhat like a squat, inverted, truncated cone andthe water impingedon the slanted sides of the cone. As a result of thisimpingement, the water from each orifice theoretically spread over thefrustoconical member and fanned out in a somewhat triangular segmentapproximately 120 in extent, or roughly 1/3 of the square area. Sincethere were four orifices, the water pattern overlapped at each corner byThis overlap of pattern caused the water to ily further at each cornersince the juncture of theV spray increased the volume in relative ratioof the overlap. Thus a square pattern was formed.

This same general principle is used in the instant invention withcertain improvements which will be pointed out hereinafter. y

By reason of the practical application of the above theory set forth inthe Wittek pattern a perfectly rectangular pattern was not produced bythe described construction. Such a result is possible, however, by meansof the construetion of the instant invention.

The reference character 20 designates a base o iron and having a waterchamber 2| formed f,

therein. Access to the chamber is had at the side of the base by meansof a passageway 22 which is screw threaded at its outer end 23 toreceive the threaded ferrule of an ordinary garden hose (not shown). Arubber ring 24 is provided to serve as a gasket when the ferrule isattached.

The base 29 is generally of truncated pyramidal formationV in theembodiment shown, although this is not essential to the invention. Thetop wall 25 is provided with a plug member 25 comprising a dischargehead which is set into the top wall and extends through same to thecham- The plug member 26 is cylindrical in formation and is providedwith four circular passageways 21, 28, 29, and 39, equally spacedthereabout and extending therethrough, parallel to the axis of themember 26. Centrally of the plug member 26 there is provided a screwthreaded passageway 3| for the accommodation of a machine screw 32 theihead 33 of which holds the deector cap 34 in place over the upper openends of the passageways 21 to 39. These open 'ends comprise fluiddischarge oriflces.

The spreader or defiector cap 34 comprises a dished member offrusto-conical formation hav- Ving a flat bottom surface 35 whichoverlies the upper end of the plug member 26 and overlaps the upperopenings or orices of the passageways 21 to 30. Centrally of the bottomsurface 35 there is provided a downwardly extending protuber= ance 36lwhich is adapted to engage in and be received by a seating recess 31formed about the upper end of the passageway 3|. The cap 34 is firmlyengaged on the end of the member 23 n It is often desirous, in portablesprinkler systems to be able to spray and saturate a section of the lawnimmediately adjacent a walk or driveway which is being used. It isrequired that the lawn properly be wetted `while the driveway remainsdry. Naturally the area to be sprayed should be controlled and in thecase of the instant invention it can be precisely defined so that thesystematic spraying of the terrain can be efficiently accomplished.

On Ithe top of the base 20 there is attached a plate member 39 by meansof the screws 4U. The thickness of the plate member 39 is preferablysubstantially equal to the amount which the member 26 extends above thesurface of the wall 25 as indicated at 4|. The plate member 39 isrectangular in formation and is arranged on one side of the member 29,preferably along the same edge of the base 29 having the inlet 22. Theouter edge of the plate member 39 is provided with a turned up portionforming a ange 42. A nut 43 is welded to the flange 42 on the insidethereof aligned with an appropriately positioned opening in the flange.A screw 44 having a knurled head 45 is engaged in said nut 43. The innerend of the thumb screw 44 is grooved at 46 and is pinned within theslide block 41 by the pin 48. The plate member 39 has a pair of ears 43'formed thereon, preferably by striking same from the same member asshown, said ears coming up the end walls of the block 41 and overlappingthe top surface thereofY whereby they retain and guide same in itssliding movement. An additional pair of lugs 50 will be foundadvantageous in properly guiding the sliding move- Vment or vthe block.

fined by the cut-away portion 5| and the bottom surface of the spreadercap 34 are identical. The angle at which the water is sprayed as aresult of the impingement thereof against the bottom surface of thespreader cap 34 is thus parallel to the angle of the cut-away surface ofthe block 41 and hence the block need not be spaced a great distancefrom the spreader cap in order for the spray to clear same in theproduction of a perfectly square spray pattern.

When the thumb screw 44' is turned to its furthest clockwise extent, theblock 41 slides along the plate 39, onto the upper surface of the plug25, and into engagement with the spreader cap 34. The orifices whichcomprise the upper ends of the passageways 28, 29, and 30 will becovered by the block 41, the passage 29 being completely covered, andthe passages 28 and 30 being only half covered. Thus, the passageway 21will be completely uncovered and the left halves of the orificescomprising the ends of the passageways 28 and 3!! will 'be uncovered,viewed in Fig. 3. It should be appreciated that by reason of theoverlapping portion of the spreader cap 34, as will be hereinafterdescribed, theV normal area of a completely uncovered orifice is lessthan the cross sectional area of any of the passageways.

it should be noted that the leading edges of the block member 41 areperpendicular to the half as4` shown in Fig. 2, it has been found thatthe pattern produced by the spray is precisely onehalf of that producedwhen the block is moved to its fullest open extent. The patternV isshown in Fig. G. The position of the sprinkler is indicated at S. Thehalf of thearea served bythe i `sprinkler which is dry is that half tothe side wherethe hose is attached. It is'therefore possible to move thedevicewhile same is operating and without danger of getting wet. Theadvantages of being able to spray aV precise rectangular'pattern to oneside of' the sprinkler are believed obvious without further mention.

Where a permanent sprinklingsystem is lnstalled to spray a large area,the invention is highly advantageous since it enables a minimum of sprayheads to be used,whi1e a completely uniform saturation is obtained. Insuch systems the feature of adiustability is not required and hence thisinvention contemplates the application of the principles to permanentspray heads. The heads which are utilized to produce a square orrectangular pattern are substantially identical with the exception ofthe deflector cap. Thus in Fig. 7 there is shown the top plan view ofaspray head which could be of either type. The reference character 52designates generally the spray head which includes a shank 53 havingani-internally threaded passage 54 whereby the head'52 may be secured'toa pipe or the like (not shown). A flaredend portion 55 is carried on theshank 53, same being recessed at 55 so that the delector cap may bebelow the upper surface 51 of the head. This enables the lawn to bemowed without danger of injuring the blades of the mower and causinginterference with the sprinkler heads. The base of the recessed portionis fiat as shown at 58 and is provided with four circumferentiallyarranged orices 59, 50, 8|, and 62 each of which communicates with thepassageway 54. Centrally of the base 58 there is provided a circularseating recess 63 arranged to cooperate with the downwardly dependingprotuberances formed on the spreader caps as will be described. Amachine screw 63 is adapted to engage in a centrally positioned tappedopening provided in said head 52 for holding the spreader caps inposition.

Two different types oi spreader caps are utilized in connection with thedescribed permanent spray head 52. One is for the production of aperfectly square spray pattern and the other is for the production of ahalf of said square pattern. In Fig. 10 there is shown a bottom planview of the spreader cap which is intended for the former purpose. Sameis shown installed on the head in Fig. 8. The spreader cap 64 of Figs. land 8 comprises a member of substantially squat truncated conicalformation heretofore described as frusto-conical having the conicalspreading surface 55 inverted upon the base 58 so that water ejectedthrough the orifices 59, 6|), 6|, and 52 will be broken into finemist-like spray. There is provided a central opening B to allow passageof the screw 63', a downwardly depending protuberance 61 to cooperatewith the recess 53 in locating and seating said cap 55 on the base 58,and an upper seating recess 58 to accommodate the head of the screw 63'.There is an annular flat portion 69 which is intended to overlap theorifices a given amount as will be described below. The edge defined bythe juncture of the surfaceand the surface 69 is'designated 1D, andisrepresented in broken lines-in Fig. 9 in order Sto show therelationthereof with respect to the oriii'ces for purposes of describing the`improved formula of relative values of the important dimensions of thedevice.

The spreader cap or deilector 1|, whichris intended to be used with thespray head 52 for the production of a halir of the square pattern,namely a precise rectangle, is shown in Figs. 11 and 12. Same comprisesa member of substantially squat truncated conical formation having theconical spreading surface 12, the central opening 13 accommodate thescrew 53', the downwardly ex- Ahead of the screw 53'. `Asthus fardescribedthe cap 1| is identical with the cap 54. In addition, however,there are provided diametrically opposed orifice blocking members 11 and18 of generally parallelepipedal formation set into the sides of the can1| andhaving their bottom'surfaces iiush with the surface 15 so as toengage the base 58. These members 11 and 18 are arranged on the centerline of the cap 1| as will be noted from Fig. l1, so that when inposition upon the head A52, the halves of a pair of diametricallyopposed orifices will be effectively covered, exactly as in the case ofthe portable device inthe condition shown in Fig. 2. In order properlyto center the cap 1| so` that the blocking members 11 and 18 areperfectly positioned, a pin 19 is attached to the cap 1| and adapted toenter and block the orifice on the covered side of the members 11 and18. Thus the pin 19 serves 4a dual purpose.

If for example, the cap 1| is arranged so that the upper halves of theorices 59 and 5| of Fig. 9 are covered, the pin 19 will be engagedWithin and blocking the orice 62.

It should be obvious that the reason for the comparatively complicatedconstruction of the cap 1| is to permit the same head 52 to be used withboth that cap and cap 64. This is a matter of economy in manufacture.Naturally special heads may be designed in which the construction of thecap to produce the rectangular pattern need not be as complicated. Forexample, an orifice could be eliminated, in which case means could beprovided for centering the cap in other than the manner described.

In order to achieve the fine spray referred to above and to furtherachieve the formation of the square and half square patterns, certainrequirements must be met. The initial volume of water must be of acertain amount, the area of the orifices covered must be a certainamount in relation thereto, and the angle of the cap must be of acertain amount to give the flying water the correct pitch so that itwill y the proper distance. If any of these factors are off, thesprinkler will not produce a square (or rectangular) spray pattern. Theformulae described in the Wittek patent did not produce as precise anduniform a square as possible in view of the fact that certain factorswere not properly adjusted one relative to the other. This resulted incertain limitations which to a considerable extent restricted the sizeof the sprinkler.

It has been found that the results described herein can readily beobtained by utilizing certain formulae (reference being had for theletters to Fig. 9 and Fig. 8). wherein, O equals the diameter of theorice; C equals the diameter of a circle intersecting the centers of the'orifices spaced 90 apart; D equals the diameter of the bottom of thedeflector cap at the point of intersection of the conical andflatsurfaces, designated 70 in Fig. 9; and A equals the angle of theface of the deector cap relative to the base of the sprinkler head.

These formulae are expressed as follows:

O is any given Value.

C equals four times O.

D equals C, minus one fiftieth of O. A equals 34.

Iforegoing without further description, and it should also be manifestthat while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed for illustrativepurposes, the structural details arenevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of thisinvention as deflned in the appended claim. Y

What it is claimed and desired to secure by Let= ters Patent of theUnited States is:

8 In a spraying device. a base having a top and a uid intake, adischarge head carried upon the top oi the base and includingcircumferentially A arranged openings, a spreader for spreading the uiddischarged from the openings and means for blocking off half of theopenings, said means comprising a sliding block member adapted to coverthe openings arranged upon the top of the base and movable into completeengagement against said spreader,` a vertically arranged flange upon thetop, a thumbscrew threaded in said flange and arranged parallel with thetop, the end of the thumbscrew being rotatively mounted in the blockmember, said block member being slidable reciprocally with rotation ofsaid screw, andears on opposite edges of the top slidably engaging theedges of the block member tov guide the reciprocal sliding movementthereof.

RALPH W, TETZLAFF, CLARENCE Vo. TETZLAFF, LILMAN B. TETZLAFF.

vEnrecuto'rs of the Estate of Beniamzn A. Tetzlaj,

Deceased.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

